Thursday, January 21, 2010

Canis et Herus (Abstemius)

SOURCE: This fable comes from the first Hecatomythium ("100 Fables") of Laurentius Abstemius (Lorenzo Bevilaqua), a fifteenth-century Italian scholar. Of all the neo-Latin fable collections, Abstemius's was the most popular, and his stories are frequently anthologized in the 16th-, 17th- and 18th-century collections of Aesop's fables in Latin. Here is a 1499 edition of the book online. This is fable 36 in the collection.

READ OUT LOUD. Choose which marked text you prefer to practice with - macrons or accent marks - and read the text out loud until you feel comfortable and confident. Then, try reading the unmarked text at the bottom. It should be easy for you after practicing with the marked texts. :-)


MACRONS. Here is the text with macrons:

Canem quīdam habēns quō magis ab illō dīligerētur, semper eum suīs pascēbat manibus, ligātumque solvēbat. Ligārī autem et verberārī iubēbat ā servō, ut beneficia ā sē, maleficia autem ā servō in illum vidērentur esse collāta. Aegrē autem ferēns canis sē assiduē ligārī verberārīque aufugit et cum increpārētur ā dominō ut ingrātus et tantōrum beneficiōrum immemor, quī sē fugisset, ā quō semper dīlectus pastusque fuisset, ligātus autem verberātusque nunquam, rēspondit quod "Servus tuō iussū facit; ā tē factum putō." Haec fābula indicat eōs malefactōrēs habendōs quī maleficiōrum causā fuēre.



ACCENT MARKS. Here is the text with stress accents, plus some color-coding for the words of three or more syllables (blue: penultimate stress; red: antepenultimate stress):

Canem quidam habens quo magis ab illo diligerétur, semper eum suis pascébat mánibus, ligatúmque solvébat. Ligári autem et verberári iubébat a servo, ut benefícia a se, malefícia autem a servo in illum videréntur esse colláta. Aegre autem ferens canis se assídue ligári verberaríque aúfugit et cum increparétur a dómino ut ingrátus et tantórum beneficiórum ímmemor, qui se fugísset, a quo semper diléctus pastúsque fuísset, ligátus autem verberatúsque nunquam, respóndit quod "Servus tuo iussu facit; a te factum puto." Haec fábula índicat eos malefactóres habéndos qui maleficiórum causa fuére.



UNMARKED TEXT. Here is the unmarked text - after practicing with the marked text that you prefer, you should not have any trouble with the unmarked text. I've put in some line breaks to show the natural pauses in the story:

Canem
quidam habens
quo magis ab illo diligeretur,
semper
eum suis pascebat manibus,
ligatumque solvebat.
Ligari autem et verberari
iubebat
a servo,
ut beneficia a se,
maleficia autem a servo
in illum
viderentur esse collata.
Aegre autem ferens canis
se assidue ligari verberarique
aufugit
et cum increparetur a domino
ut ingratus
et tantorum beneficiorum
immemor,
qui se fugisset,
a quo semper
dilectus pastusque fuisset,
ligatus autem verberatusque
nunquam,
respondit quod
"Servus tuo iussu facit;
a te factum puto."
Haec fabula indicat
eos malefactores habendos
qui maleficiorum causa fuere.




IMAGE. Here is an illustration for a different Aesop's fable about a dog (image source):